‘His life was a dedication to the arts’: Shiavax Chavda’s children talk about his retrospective exhibition

Just like they have been doing for the past 26 years, the Nehru Centre Art Gallery is currently holding their Indian Masters Retrospective Exhibition, where they feature works of art masters. For their annual retrospective this year, they have chosen the works of one of the pioneers of Indian modern art, the late Shiavax Chavda. The master draughtsman, who was a part of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, experimented with various artistic styles over his four-decade long career. For his accomplishments, he was felicitated as a fellow of the Lalit Kala Academi in 1986 and awarded Artist of the year by the Maharashtra State government in 1990. He passed away on August 18, 1990 at the age of 76.

His son Pervez Chavda remembers his father being immersed in his art for days at a time. “His discipline and passion for his work shaped our work ethic. He sourced his inspiration from unique aspects of our daily lives and his versatility permeated through his different styles of art,” he says. An observant person with a keen interest in the things happening around him, is how his daughter Jeroo Chavda remembers him. “He was well-informed about a lot of topics, including books, politics, films, dance and art. His work schedule was very disciplined. His whole life was a dedication to the arts,” she adds.

(Some of the artist’s works (right) on display at the retrospective; One of his sketches)

Shiavax studied at the Slade School of Fine Arts in London, post his graduation from the JJ School of Art. The human body, birds, serpents and other animals, Balinese masks, ancient Indian temples and cave sculptures, Indian musicians, classical Indian dancers, semi-abstract and abstract art was what went on his canvas in his long and illustrious career. “The retrospective is a fresh lot of works which have not been exhibited before. There are works from his different phases — from his student days in London to his travels across India. He always wanted to grow as an artist and didn’t want to get stuck in the rut of one style for years,” says Jeroo, adding that he never gave names to his abstracts. “When people asked ‘Yeh kya hai?’, he would reply, ‘Aapko jo bhi dikhe, woh hai’. He didn’t want to limit people’s imagination and was far ahead of his times,” she adds.   

His paintings are part of collections, both in India and abroad, including the Victoria & Albert Museum London, Budapest Museum and The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi among others. 

Indian Masters’ Retrospective Exhibition on Shiavax Chavda at Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Worli till January 6, 2019 from 11 am-7 pm.